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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — a country
  4. key — for a lock
  5. season — in sport
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. key — in music
  12. charge — a price
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. charge — electricity
  15. cap — a lid
  16. land — ground
  17. bark — to shout
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cap — a hat
  22. charge — in control
  23. cap — of ice
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com